Billionaire Cheng family seeks sale of London Rosewood as pressures mount

The billionaire Cheng family have put a luxury London hotel up for sale as they grapple with liquidity challenges at debt laden Hong Kong property group New World Development Co.

The family, led by tycoon Henry Cheng, has appointed advisers to offer the Rosewood Hotel in London’s Holborn district for sale, people with knowledge of the plan said, asking not to be identified as the plan is private.

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New World has attempted to sell a raft of assets after plunging Hong Kong real estate values pushed up the group’s relative indebtedness.

The Cheng family has sought a partner to match a capital injection and the company last month proposed a bond swap that would trim about $1.2 billion from its debt pile.

A spokesperson at Rosewood Hotel Group declined to comment on ownership matters, but said its brands are not up for sale and all its properties remain fully operational as usual.

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the private investment arm of the Cheng family, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The proposed sale is part of a wider program of Rosewood disposals being targeted by the family, Bloomberg News has previously reported. The Rosewood operation, led by Henry Cheng’s daughter Sonia, is owned by the family’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd vehicle.

The group has 58 Rosewood properties around the world, according to its website. The Rosewood London, as the Holborn location is known, was the first hotel operated under the brand to open in the UK capital.

A second outpost, the Chancery Rosewood, was launched at the site of the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair earlier this year. That project was overseen by Qatari Diar, the developer owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Deals for London hotels rose 42% in the three months through September, according to data compiled by broker Savills Plc. Robust demand has pushed values higher, the broker’s data show.

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